URI MGP Newsletter, Mar 9: Spring Fest Update, Volunteer Opportunities, Speaking Skills

Important Spring Festival Update for 2017

As many of you know, URI Cooperative Extension hosts the East Farm Spring Festival annually to highlight the work of the URI Master Gardener Program and the research and Cooperative Extension activities at the farm. The event draws an estimated 3,000 visitors to the farm annually, with an estimated 4,000 attendees in 2016. Due to space restrictions and the growth of the event over the past 15 years, the event will be moved to the main URI Kingston campus this year.

After careful consideration, site visits and consultation with about 15 URI Master Gardeners on the planning committee and various URI staff, we’ve settled on a festival location. The educational elements of the festival will be held in the URI Botanical Gardens with the plant sale held in the URI Fine Arts Commuter lot, and various activities stretching between the two locations. The “URI Spring Festival” will be held on Saturday, May 6, 2017 from 9:00-1:00PM.

Once we’ve ironed out the larger logistical issues related to traffic, parking and safety with URI officials in mid-March, we will be in touch with event details, and to coordinate programmatic elements and publicity, serving as a highlighted event for URI’s 125th Anniversary Celebration. Thank you to all of who have supported this transition thus far!

If anyone has any questions and concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Best,

Kate Venturini

URI Cooperative Extension
College of the Environment and Life Sciences | University of Rhode Island
p: 401-874-4096 | f: 401-874-2259 | e: kate@uri.edu | w: web.uri.edu/ceoc

You're Invited - Volunteer Opportunity Fair 3/14

Are you interested in expanding your volunteer horizons this year? Join us at the volunteer opportunity fair on Tuesday, 3/14! The fair runs from 5:30-6:45pm and will be held on the ground floor of the Pharmacy building. While it’s held for the new class each year, we encourage veteran Master Gardeners to attend to learn more about our various projects and volunteer opportunities. We’ll have maps of the room setup there that night.

Here’s a brand new interactive map of our projects to find one near you: https://web.uri.edu/mastergardener/projects/

2017 Speaking Skills Series

We invite you to sharpen your educator skills with this series of workshops! We have sessions designed for beginner and more advanced speakers to share their passion for gardening. The best way to learn a topic is to teach it – we hope you’ll join us!

PowerPoint Skills (2 Sessions – Choose 1)
Monday, March 20, 1:00pm – 2:30pm or 5:30-7:00pm,
Chaffee 208

Learn how to use a powerpoint template and best practices to design a powerpoint presentation. This sessions is designed for our public presenters to gain more skills developing gardening talks to give to the public. Sign up for one session only, space is limited. Registration is required in Volgistics.

Public Presentation Orientation
Thursday, April 6, 6 – 7 pm
Pharmacy 240

Discover if teaching others is your calling in the Master Gardener Program. We’ll hear from some of our MG speakers about this rewarding experience. If you like learning about a topic in-depth and sharing that knowledge with your community, this class is for you! Registration is required in Volgistics.

Speaking Skills Training Session
Tuesday, June 6, 6 – 8 pm
Pharmacy 240

Our public presenters will be on hand to share some of the “tricks of the trade”. We’ll fill you in on existing presentations that can be edited for your use and our process for fact-checking presentations. We’ll even practice our opening remarks. Registration is required in Volgistics.

Volunteers Needed as Desourdy School Garden Mentors

Volunteers are needed NOW in several schools around the state as part of The Desourdy School Garden Mentor Program. The programs run from spring through fall with parents, teachers and MGs working to teach and train students to learn gardening. We hope students will continue a lifelong pursuit of learning how to plant seeds, water, nurture, weed, harvest and prepare for the next season. MG Mentors provide advice, information, and reference materials so teachers can have success with their school gardens as outdoor classrooms. Parent involvement makes the programs run throughout the summer break.

There will be a training for New Volunteers on Wednesday, April 5, 6 – 8 PM at the Warwick Public Library (600 Sandy Lane, Warwick). All school volunteers are required to complete a RI BCI background check. If you’re interested in learning more, please sign up for the training in Volgistics.

In the East Bay Region, the following schools have openings for MG Mentors:

Bradley, Portsmouth, RI
South Elementary, Somerset, MA
Sowams, Barrington, RI
Westport, MA

The Regional Managers for the Eastern Region SGMs are Linda Griffiths and Jacqueline Guerra Lofgren. If you are interested in this MG project, or if you would like further information, please contact us.

Linda Griffiths
lgriffithsrimg@gmail.com
Jacqueline Guerra Lofgren
jglofgren53@gmail.com

Help Wanted: Engaging Children in Nature

Spring 2017 Learning Landscape Field Trips at the URI Botanical Gardens

Would you like to share your love of nature with elementary school children in the beautiful URI Botanical Gardens? Consider joining URI staff, students and returning URI Master Gardener educators by signing up to become a URI Learning Landscape Educator this spring. Gain three volunteer hours each session while inspiring the next generation of environmental stewards in fun, hands-on educational lessons.

To become a MG Learning Landscape (LL) educator, you’ll need to attend one training session at the URI Mallon Outreach Center on 3 East Alumni Avenue in Kingston on Wednesday, April 19^th from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, or Thursday, April 20^th, same times. Special arrangements will be made if another training time is needed. When the program begins on April 26^th, you’ll have a couple of opportunities to shadow experienced LL educators before signing up to lead a small group of children through the outdoor learning stations.

The Spring Learning Landscape Program runs Tuesday through Friday, April 26 – June 9, 2017 at the URI Botanical Gardens. You choose your level of involvement, from 1 – 3 sessions/week, on-site from 9:20am-12:30pm. For more information and/or to sign up for a training session, please contact Amy Cabaniss at amy_cabaniss@uri.edu

March Master Gardener Meeting

Thursday, March 23, 6pm – 9pm
Swan Hall, Upper College Road

meeting Our March MG meeting is a great time to get together with your fellow MG’s, catch up on the latest MG news and meet our brand new URI Plant Sciences Department faculty member, Dr. John Taylor. Dr. Taylor will speak on Resilient Landscapes as we continue to delve into our “Land Stewardship” focus area. He’ll talk about his plans for urban gardening research here in Rhode Island, and ways that URI Master Gardeners can get involved!

Rosanne Sherry will provide timely Master Gardener Quick Tips to help you answer questions as we ramp up the kiosk and soil testing. Vanessa Venturini will continue to explain our new “focus area”of getting folks excited about improving the environment from their back yard. Please REGISTER IN VOLGISTICS so we may send you relevant information.

We will award pins as well! MG merchandise and garden tour tickets will be on sale. If you haven’t completed your volunteer renewal, you can do so at this meeting. Feel free to bring potluck food items to share with your fellow MG’s!

Catch the Buzz…Learn the Benefits of Beekeeping

Wednesday, March 22, 2017, 2:00PM
Beechwood Center, 44 Beach Street, North Kingstown

buzz URI Master Gardener, Jaime Nash, is the project leader for the Edible Forest Garden located in Roger Williams Park, Providence, RI. He has given several presentations and workshops related to beekeeping, attracting pollinators and forest gardening including the many permaculture concepts typically featured within them. He is also a beekeeper and helps maintain two honeybee hives located within the Community Garden at Roger Williams Park.

This lecture will focus on illustrating and teaching the benefits of beekeeping and will highlight how tending beehives gives the gardener a new appreciation for these special pollinating insects. Gardening would never be the same without them. Protect and encourage these tireless tiny farmers!

If interested in attending, please contact Rayna Wilcox, Volunteer/Program Coordinator, at The Beechwood Center for Life Enrichment at 401-268-1594; or email her at: RWilcox@northkingstown.org. These programs are offered to members and the public at no charge. Master Gardeners receive education credits for attending.

Back to Our Roots: Being Wild About Wild Plants

water Saturday, March 25, 2:00pm – 3:30pm
URI, Pharmacy 170

In Celebration of RIWPS 30th Anniversary, Lisa Lofland Gould, founding member and first president of RIWPS will address the question, Why should anyone care about plants, and especially about that seemingly obscure and often subtle flora we Wild Folks so enjoy? Lisa will consider the pivotal role that plants play in our lives, some history of human knowledge of the plant world, and how we seek to understand plants today.

http://riwps.org/event/annual-meeting-lisa-gould-guest-speaker/

Beginning Farmer Workshops – March/April 2017

beginning

Class Series: Moving onto Your Own Land – in partnership with the Young Farmer Network

This course will be taught in three sessions, but you don’t need to be able to attend all three to participate. It’s geared toward farmers who have experience working on farms but are either considering, in the process of, or recently started a new farming operation. We’ll tackle many of the questions that come up when making decisions about a new piece of land, but the issues addressed are also relevant to any farmers who are active learners! Sign up for any of them here: http://bit.ly/2kUXxKu

(1) Assessing & Preparing Land for Farming
Wed., Mar. 15, 5:30-8:30 pm
The Met’s Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship. 325 Public St., Providence
Tess Brown-Lavoie from Land for Good will cover assessing land for its potential farm-ability, snags and issues to anticipate when selecting land for lease or purchase, negotiating a farm lease, a tutorial for using the Web Soil Survey, and more. John Kenny from Big Train Farm will present two different strategies for preparing raw land for vegetable crops, including mechanized and no-till processes.

(2) Composting to Build Soil & Fertility on Your Scale
Sun., Mar. 26, 10 am – 2 pm
Urban Edge Farm, 35 Pippin Orchard Rd., Cranston
Rich Pederson from City Farm will discuss the intensive food scrap composting system he has perfected over his 15 years as an urban farmer in Providence. City Farm is the #1 food waste composter in Providence, #2 in the state of RI! Bryan O’Hara of Tobacco Road Farm will present his best practices for building compost in a quantity that serves a handful of acres of intensive vegetable production. His no-till, year-round vegetable farm has grown famous in our region for its success for more than two decades. This event is outside, please dress for the weather!

(3) Infrastructure Development
Sun., April 2, 10 am – 4 pm
Urban Edge Farm, 35 Pippin Orchard Rd., Cranston
Chuck Currie from Freedom Food Farm will discuss how to determine what machinery is appropriate to your operation and your scale. Other topics of the day include irrigation, NRCS EQIP program, composting toilets and urine diversion, and more! This event is outside, so please dress for the weather!

Preventing crop disease & pests – in partnership with University of Rhode Island
Sat., Apr. 1, 9-11:30 am
Roger Williams Park Botanical Center
Learn many practices growers can do to avoid insect and disease problems in vegetable and fruit plantings. Techniques will range from general practices for all crops to crop-specific practices. We’ll also scout for pests in the Roger Williams Botanical Center. Taught by URI’s Heather Faubert. Sign up by calling the SCLT office: 401-273-9419

What to look for when buying livestock – in partnership with NOFA/RI
Sun., Apr. 9, 1-3 pm
Wild Harmony Farm, 366 Victory Hwy, Exeter, RI
Hosted by Ben Coerper and Rachael Slattery of Wild Harmony Farm, this workshop will cover important aspects of an animal’s physical characteristics, management practices, breed selections and relative value while purchasing poultry, sheep, pigs and cattle. Sign up here: http://bit.ly/2l8gN2A

Care for Soil, Respect for Water – in partnership with University of Rhode Island
SCLT office, 109 Somerset Street, Providence
Tues., Apr. 18, 4:30-6 pm
We will look at what is soil actually made of, what practices can maintain and improve soil, and how your plants make a living in the soil. All living things need water, so we will also think about how water behaves in the soil, how your plants respond to the water in the soil, and how you can use it efficiently. Taught by URI’s Andy Radin. Sign up by calling the SCLT office: 401-273-9419

The Living Landscape: Doug Tallamy and Rick Darke come to RI!

On Saturday, June 24th, Sogkonate Garden Club sponsors a free workshop, The Living Landscape, by nationally acclaimed authors Doug Tallamy and Rick Darke from 9-3 at Wilbur McMahon School. Registration is at sogkonate.org, Go to the home page, and click the green button. Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to see your landscape in a different way.

The program is free, but for planning purposes, please register.

Hot Topics from the URI Consumer Horticulture Educator

rosanne The following science-based articles may help you answer questions from the community. Rosanne Sherry, URI Consumer Horticulture Educator, recommends you read them to help sharpen your own gardening and educator skills! Please send comments or suggestions for articles to rsherry@uri.edu.

The latest Master Gardener Quick Tips is now available in the MG Gardening Resources Section under Documents. It is dated 2.15.17. Timely tips are now sorted by season. There is an index sheet listed as well so you can quickly find a topic.
https://web.uri.edu/mastergardener/documents/

From Northeast IPM Center February newsletter
http://www.northeastipm.org/about-us/publications/ipm-insights/the-identity-problem-of-the-southern-pine-beetle/

From Inside Grower Feb. 3, 2017

Better Tasting Tomatoes

http://news.ufl.edu/articles/2017/01/team-discovers-key-to-restoring-great-tomato-flavor.php

Top Organic Products: The Winner Is …

According to Nielsen, organic purchases are growing. Based on U.S. sales over 52 weeks ending July 30, 2016, volume sales of products with an organic claim rose 13%. So what’s most popular when it comes to organic? Pre-packaged salads came out on top, followed by berries and apples. Chicken came in fourth and herbs, spices and seasonings rounded out the Top 5.

Carrots, beverages, bananas, value-added vegetables and lettuce filled out the rest of the list, in that order. I find it interesting that lettuce came in 10th, but pre-packaged salads came in first. So it’s not just the lettuce, but all the salad necessities ready for eating that ranked the highest. We’re truly living in an age of convenience.

From Nursery and Landscape Insider Editor Matthew Chappell
Pesticides Are Taking it on the Chin

Have you heard that France has banned all pesticides sales to the public for application on home landscapes? There’s also a ban on application of pesticides in all public areas, with the exception of cemeteries. I think the French Parliament must have assumed the dead are – dead. That’s comforting.

09027 This made me wonder – what’s cooking in 2017 with regards to banning of pesticides in the U.S.? In 2016, California passed regulations that limit aerial pesticide applications near schools and daycares, which, while burdensome for vegetable and row-crop agriculture, has less impact on ornamental producers and landscape professionals.

There have also been pesticide-specific bans in some cities across the U.S. The most striking proposed legislation thus far in 2017 is a bill that would ban all pesticides in New Hampshire in areas where children play (HB 399). The bill would significantly limit pesticide application in public places (schools, parks, green spaces)